


If Only The Stars Aligned

by Im_So_Quacking_Emo



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-10 07:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5577361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_So_Quacking_Emo/pseuds/Im_So_Quacking_Emo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan Howell is the lonely, depressed prince of Jupiter with only one friend and sever anxiety. While on a trip to Earth, Dan meets Phil Lester, the happy, outgoing prince of Neptune with extra love to give. What happens next is entirel unknown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. From The Other Side

 

 

The wind swirled in circles grazing over the false reality of the surroundings. The grass wavered slightly under the breeze's influence, making the boy lying in it shiver. The wind blew through his hair and he subconsciously reached up to flatten the already curly mess.  
"Daniel!" A woman's voice shouted from a near distance. "Daniel!"  
Said boy sat up, running his fingers through his hair to fix it and failing horrendously. "Over here!" He shouted back at her.  
The woman appeared in front of him and smiled a warm and caring smile down at him. The woman had chocolate brown hair that fell in waves from her messy ponytail and glorious emerald colour eyes. As she smiled a dimple appeared on one cheek only.  
"Hi ma." Daniel said, gazing up at her, a light smile present on his face. "What do you need?"  
"I came to inform you that it is almost time to leave." She replied, her voice taking on a more serious tone, slowly being forgotten as she knelt down in front of her son and plucked a stray leaf from his hair. She picked up the golden crown that had been forgotten in the grass next to him, dusted it off and placed it on his head, placing a kiss on his forehead as she did so.  
"Come on." She said, standing up and extending a hand to him. He gladly took it and was pulled up, bouncing a bit on his landing. He smiled and walked back to his home, hand in hand with his mother.  
They entered their home and each turned in their respective directions to go to their rooms and get ready. Royalty always had to look presentable when going places, his father had always told him. So that's what he tried to do. He always tried to look presentable, just with the way he was it was hard to maintain. He closed the door to his room, locking it behind him and going over to look at his reflection in the mirror.  
His hair was a mess, strands of the brown mop falling everywhere and curling in all different directions. His younger brother often referred to it as hobbit hair, as it made him look like a character from an earth movie that he couldn't remember the name of. His eyes looked sunken and tired as he hasn't gotten much sleep except for the nap he had taken in the garden earlier.  
Dan sighed, removing his crown and placing it on his dresser, pulling a brush and hair straightener from his drawer to attempt to fix his hair, and washed his face as he waited for it to heat up. An agonizing half an hour later and he was presentable enough to make the walk past all of the residents of his planet to the dock where they would leave for earth.  
They were headed for earth for the earth princesses eighteenth birthday. It was a very important celebration as eighteen was the age when you would finally take over the kingdom on earth. On Jupiter where Dan lived, he could take over whenever he felt most comfortable. Which meant there would be no huge celebrations when he turned eighteen the following year, although his parents would probably throw him one anyway.  
Three hours, one terribly boring ship ride, eighty rounds of cards, and six cans of pop later and Dan and his mother had reached the planet of earth. His father and brother had stayed behind as they weren't much for celebration. To be honest, Dan wasn't either but he was roped into going by his mother who said she would be more comfortable going if he came with her.  
Dan stood out like a sore thumb in the sea of people gathered in the earth castle. He was clad in all black aside from his gold crown which sat slightly askew on top of his perfectly straightened hair. He wasn't smiling and was quite tall for his age. He was a point blank dot in the sea of people all clad in colourful clothes and perfectly straight crowns on heads of wavy hair in an assortment of colours with normal sized bodies with smiles on their faces.  
One particular group of around for people his age caught his eye. He pulled on his mothers sleeve slightly to attract her attention.  
"Daniel? What is it?" She asked, her voice taking in the serious tone it would always take on when she was in a public place.  
Dan pointed to the group of people. "Who are they?" He asked, his voice sounding more curious than he would have liked it too.  
"Oh, I have no idea. Why don't you go ask them?" She suggested.  
Before Dan could even say anything he was being pulled forward into a hug from a fellow tall person. Warm arms were wrapped around his waist and all he could see was the colourful shirt of the chest his face was pressed into.  
"Peej?" He asked, hoping for the sake of not be embarrassed that he was right.  
"Yup!" He heard the cheery voice of his best friend say from above him followed by a giggle. Dan laughed as well and nuzzled into Pj's chest slightly causing the older boy to laugh more.  
"Now," Pj said, pulling away from Dan and looking down at him. Dan stared back up at him, temporarily getting lost in his friends bright green eyes. "I say we go over there and investigate those people. They've been interesting me since they got here." He insisted, pointing over to the same group of people that had been interesting Dan a few minuets previous.  
"Okay." He managed to say, still staring up at his friend.  
"Great!" Pj said, huge smile still present on his face. He spun to the side and tossed his arm around Dan's shoulders, the pair walking over to the group.


	2. Blue Eyes

Dan and Pj had been best friends since Dan was six and Pj was eight. Pj and his family had come to Jupiter when Dan's little brother, Tyler, had been born. Pj and his family were also royalty. They came from the planet Saturn. It was the closest planet to Jupiter. Dan and Pj had automatically hit it off, and they had been best friends ever since. 

People often assumed they were a couple, they would hold hands or link arms and stayed as close together as possible, separating only when the had no other options. Over the years they had convinced their parents to let then share a room whenever they went to another planet for a celebration or they visited each others planets. Even the commoners had started to think they were together, some were opposed but most treated them like they actually were a couple. 

"Oh hey, I checked out our room. Let me tell you, it's huge!" Pj said excitedly, squeezing Dan's shoulder slightly.  
"Yeah?" Dan asked, slipping his arm around Pj's waist.  
"Yup, you'll love it." Pj smiled and they completed the walk to the group. Dan instantly stiffened and held onto Pj tighter. Pj smiled down at him to try and get him to relax. It only sort of worked. 

One member of the group noticed them as soon as they walked up. "Hey, guys!" They said, gesturing to Dan and Pj. The others turned to look at them and Dan stiffened again, gripping at Pj's shirt slightly. Pj gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze and turned back to the group.  
"Hey, I'm Pj, from Saturn, and this is Dan, from Jupiter. We just wanted to come over and say hi. What are your names?" 

The person who had noticed them earlier gave both of them a once over as if to decide if they wanted to talk to them. "Names Joey. I'm from Uranus."

Dan studied the boy named Joey. He had bright red hair styled into a quiff and a silver crown sat perched on his head as sideways as it could get without falling off. He had bright blue eyes and wore a red and black plaid shirt, black jeans and brown work boots. He had piercings on his eyebrow, nose and lip and his left arm was covered from bottom to top with tattoos. 

"I'm Hannah and this is my sister Hilly! We're from mars!" An excited girl with black hair said, gesturing to the red haired girl standing next to her who only waved and smiled slightly. 

Hannah had dark black hair that hung across her forehead and bright blue eyes. She wore a white dress and blue vans. Hilly had gingery brown hair that fell in front of one of her eyes and brown eyes similar to Dan's own. She wore black high waisted jeans, black heeled boots and an orange cropped tank top. Both had gold crowns resting on their heads. 

"My name is Phil. I'm from Neptune." The last of the four spoke. 

Dan looked over at the boy and his breath was instantly taken away. He was absolutely stunning. He had shiny black hair that was even straighter than Dan's with a beautiful silver crown balanced on top of his head at a slight angle just like Dan's. His eye were blue but weren't at the same time. They were blue with flecks of green and yellow. His skin was rather pale and he had a kind looking smile. He was dressed in a blue button down shirt, black skinny jeans and navy blue vans. 

"H-hi." Dan stuttered out, averting his gaze to his shoes.  
Pj pulled Dan closer to his side and kissed the top of his head. He had a way of making Dan feel more comfortable even in the most awkward situations. 

Dan let out a shaky breath and looked up through his lashes at the group standing in front of him. They were all staring at him and Pj as if they were trying to figure out a complex puzzle. He instantly dropped his gaze back to the floor and turned red. 

"Sorry about this. Dan gets really uncomfortable around new people." Pj said, giving Dan's shoulder a reassuring squeeze yet again. 

Dan looked up out of the corner of his eyes at his friend, silently thanking him for doing that. 

"Yeah, it's no problem." Joey said, smiling brightly at the two. "Hey, this is just a question but, are you two like, a couple? I don't mean to be rude but I was just curious 'cause you know, you seem so close and, stuff." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, as if worried that he would somehow offend them with a simple question they got asked all the time. 

Thankfully, Pj just laughed and shook his head. "No, we're not together. Just best friends. Although everyone seems to get that idea. I guess we are really close." A small yawn escaped the smaller boys lips and Pj looked down at him and giggled. "Tired?" 

Dan nodded and rubbed his eyes, temporarily forgetting about the people in front of them and just getting lost in Pj and his presence again. "Alright, well maybe we should just head up to our room. It's been a long day." Dan nodded in agreement as he yawned again. 

"Alright, well we'll be going now. It was nice to meet you. Bye." Pj said. They turned to walk away and heard the murmured goodbyes from the people behind them. Dan looked over his should and his eyes met with Phil's. Phil smiled and waved whilst his friends turned back to their conversations. Dan couldn't help but smile at this as he and Pj turned the corner to the stairs. 

As they walked Dan rested his head on Pj's shoulder and yawned again. Pj chuckled as they stopped out side of a door. He reached around to the back pocket of his jeans to pull out a key. He slipped it into the lock on the door and it slid open with ease. Both boys kicked off their shoes and placed their crowns onto the dresser before collapsing into one of the beds, not caring that they were given two for a reason. 

Dan leaned back, resting his head on the pillow and yawning yet again. Pj smiled and settled down beside Dan. Smiling, Dan reached out and brushed a piece of Pj's curly brown hair from his eyes. He kept his hand rested on the side of his head for a moment before sliding it down to his shoulder. Pj laughed slightly and pulled Dan closer to him, the younger boy nuzzling his face into Pj's chest. 

They would lay like that all the time, people often questioning how friends could be that comfortable together but neither boy cared much about the criticism. They would continue to do it as long as they would stay friends. It's what they liked to do. Pj planted a soft kiss on the younger's head with more ease than before thanks to the removal of his crown. Dan smiled nuzzled further into Pj's chest, his forehead finding the crook of his neck and he decided that was the most comfortable position. Felling the steady rhythm of his friends breath, Pj fell into the grasp of sleep, Dan following not far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats right bitches, I wrote myself into this story! (Joey, if you couldn't tell.) I hope you liked it! I plan to update this really frequently so be prepared for it!


	3. Angels On The Moon

The following day came and went. The moment they left their room Dan and Pj were bombarded with questions about where they had gone and why they didn't tell anyone where they had went from adults who were more concerned for Dan's safety than Pj's as Pj was an adult and Dan wasn't. After their half hour of scolding about their disappearance from Dan's mother the two returned to their rooms to eat. They spent the day just hanging out in their room relaxing, eating and playing earth games that they couldn't for the life of them remember having ever played before. 

Now that it was night Pj was sound asleep next to him. No matter how hard he tried, Dan couldn't fall asleep. He was just lying there, staring at his friend next to him and silently counting the freckles on his chest and collarbone. He had a lot, Dan would give him that, but even this boring of a task couldn't bore him enough to make him fall asleep. 

After another hour of painful trying, Dan couldn't take it any more. He had to get outside. The night air would surely cause him to fall asleep. And if it didn't at least it was something to do aside from being trapped in this hell hole. 

He slipped out of the bed as quietly and quickly as he could as not to wake his sleeping friend and walked over to the door, grabbing the first pair of shoes he found and slipping the on. He pulled one of Pj's oversized hoodies over his head and walked out into the hallway, still being as quiet as he could all the way down to the back garden.   
He slipped out the back door and closed it gently, breathing a sigh of relief as he could finally walk normally, not having to worry about making noise. He hasn't realized how big the back garden was. It stretched on for what looked like miles. Most of it looked to be empty space aside from a small cluster of trees mid felid. He decided that was his ideal place to go. It reminded him of home. 

As he walked he looked around. The castle stood tall at his back, the moonlight causing it's tall black silhouette to look beautiful yet eerie. Stray beams of light illuminated the path before him as he walked. The grass swayed swiftly in the light breeze. Everything about the surroundings was calming and it reminded him so much of home. 

Dan settled under one of the trees, laying his head in the grass beneath it. He looked up at the branches of the tree above him, noticing the outline of a person. He furrowed him brows him confusion, squinting slightly to get a better look. It was most definitely a person. 

"Hey!" Dan shouted, sitting up and twisting to face the tree. "Hey!" 

The figure moved, almost as if to look down at him, then disappeared around the back of the tree. Dan scrambled to get to his feet, slowly peering around the back of the tree, only to walk dead into someone else. The collision knocked him backwards into the grass and he heard a laugh from above him. 

"You know, usually I'm the one falling over." A familiar male voice said, followed by more laughing. 

Dan sat up again, facing the mysterious stranger. He looked up and saw a pair of blue eyes he couldn't forget easily. "Phil." He sighed, averting his gaze to his shoes and running his hand through the curly mess that was his hair. 

"Hia Dan. Mind if I join you?" He asked, sitting down next to Dan and making himself comfortable. 

Dan giggled slightly "No, I don't mind at all." 

"Nice night, isn't it?" Phil asked, attempting to make some form of conversation. 

Dan nodded in response, lying down and looking up at the sky. "Yeah, it really is." 

Phil smiled, lying down next to Dan and turning his head to face him. Dan turned to look at Phil, their faces were mere centimetres apart. 

"You're really pretty, you know that?" Phil said, smiling slightly at Dan who's face was painted with a light blush. 

"Am I now? I don't really think so." Dan said turning his head back facing upwards. 

"Well you are. I don't understand why you can't see that." He replied, turning his head for ace the sky as well. "What do you think is up there? On the moon, I mean." He questioned, turning his face back to face Dan. 

Dan smiled slightly, still staring up at the tiny speckles of light in the otherwise dark abyss of the night sky. "Ah, well, this is gonna sound fucking ridiculous but, ever since I was a kid, I would always dream that there were angels on the moon, people who would watch over us when we were feeling sad, you know? It sounds really stupid, but it's something I genuinely thought, and still think for that matter." 

Phil smiled, remembering things he also thought when he was younger. "That doesn't sound ridiculous at all. It reminds me of some of the stuff I used to think up when I was younger."

"How old are you anyway?" Dan wondered, looking at Phil out of the corner of his eye. 

"I'm 21." Phil said, smiling at Dan who blushed slightly. 

"Wow, that uh, that's quite the age gap. I'm only 17." He said, being completely honest. 

Before Phil could have the chance to reply, a voice sounded from behind them. "Dan! Oh my gosh I was so worried!" 

Dan sat up and whipped around to see the person who had spoken was Pj. "Peej? You woke up." He said, standing up and walking over to his friend who instantly engulfed him into a hug. 

"Don't do that Dan. I thought you had been kidnapped or something, I got so worried." Pj said, ruffling Dan's hair slightly. 

"I'm sorry Peej. I just couldn't sleep but Phil here kept me great company, right Phil?" Dan turned back to look at the black haired boy who only nodded, his smile faltering ever so slightly that Pj didn't notice but Dan did. 

"Well thank you for taking care of him for me Phil. I don't know what I would do if he had been kidnapped." Pj smiled brightly at the shorter boy who smiled back. 

"It was no problem. Dan's good company." Phil smiled, looking over at Dan as he said that who blushed slightly. 

"He really is. Well, we should head back to our room now and I'm sure you should do the same. Night Phil." Pj said, wrapping his arm around Dan as he turned to leave. 

"One minuet Peej." Dan said as he rushed back to Phil, bending down slightly and planting a light kiss on the older boy's cheek. "Goodnight Phil." He smiled, skipping back over to Pj and wrapping his arm around his waist as the two walked away, leaving a red faced Phil behind them to dream of angels on the moon with brown eyes and brown hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Let me know in the comments if ya did! Two new characters will be introduced in the next chapter so BE PREPARED! Love ya, bye!


	4. Twins

The following morning brought nothing but sleep for the brown haired boys. The woke up in a mess of tangled limbs and hair thanks to their awkward sleeping positions. Neither wanted to move as tonight was the night of the princess' party, but they decided that food was a good idea and went to get dressed. 

Wake up. Get up. Roll out of bed. Get dressed. Walk downstairs for food. It was a simplistic routine that the two seemed to make the most impossible tasks to do. After the long struggle, they both decided they looked fine enough to go downstairs and eat. 

The large dining room held a buffet style breakfast so all the guests could cater to themselves. The two boys piled their plates full of food and proceeded to go to an abandoned table in the corner. Both instantly dug into their food and were soon joined by two other people. 

"Morning boys. Hope you don't mind us sitting with you, we don't much care for adults." The red haired boy of the pair said. It was Joey, Dan knew that much, but he had no idea who the boy who had sat down with him was. 

Joey and Pj fell into conversation and the unknown person who sat who them kept his eyes trained on Joey as he sipped at his coffee. 

Dan studied the odd boy. He had blue hair that was dark on top and light along the sides and back styled similarly to his own. He had brown eyes, an eyebrow bar, septum piercing and earrings. He wore a light blue jumper that hung off his shoulder slightly and with a quick glance down Dan could see that he was wearing white skinny jeans and blue doc martins. 

"What's your name?" Dan asked with ought thinking, causing all conversation at the table to cease and all eyes to be trained on him. 

"Me?" The boy asked, pointing at himself. Dan nodded and the boy started giggling. "Oh, well my name is Jamie. Jamie Dylan."

"He's my twin brother." Joey explained, throwing his arm over the boys shoulders and scooting himself a bit closer to him. "He was too tired to come downstairs the other day, and you two spent all day in your room yesterday so he's new to you."

"Okay. Well, nice to meet you." Dan said, forcing himself to smile at the boy who smiled brightly back. 

Joey and Pj fell back into conversation quickly whilst Dan and Jamie just listened but were eventually pulled into the conversation. Joey spoke about bands he felt Dan might like as well as video games he needed to try out. Jamie spoke about people they needed to meet and places they needed to go. It was all very entertaining, but Dan was getting anxious. 

"Joey! Jamie!" A female voice called from behind the two boys. Upon hearing their names, the two turned around and instantly shot up to envelope the blonde girl in a hug. Dan took this time to stand up and leave. 

He made it as far as the grand staircase before he crashed into a familiar chest and was knocked backwards. 

"We need to stop meeting like this." A chuckling voice announced from above him and Dan instantly knew who it was. 

"We'll you could stop knocking me over you spork." Dan said, scratching his head as he looked up at he blue eyed boy. 

"Sorry, but I can't really control how easily you fall over." Phil said, extending a hand to help Dan up which he gladly took. "Where are you headed?" 

"Just back up to my room. Why?" Dan asked, staring up at Phil, eyes locking with his causing his heart to miss a couple beats. 

"No reason, just curious. I'll see you tonight, yeah?" He asked. 

"Definitely." Dan said, smiling up at him. 

"Great!" Phil smiled. He bent down and placed a light kiss on Dan's cheek. "See you tonight."

As soon as Phil turned the corner Dan raced up the staircase and down the ha to his room. He closed the door and leaned back on it, sighing in relief. He was suddenly a little more excited for tonight.


	5. Not So Straight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. It's more of a filler chapter. Sorry!

Dan sat on his bed quietly drawing on his arm. His wrist to his elbow was now covered in black ink doodles ranging from stars to song lyrics and everything else he could think of. This tended to happen if someone left him alone for too long. Pj had always told him that if he ever felt sad or lonely, just draw on yourself. It hurts less than hurting yourself, and ink will always wash off. 

The doors the the room flung open, startling Dan and causing him to drop the pen. He yanked his sleeve down over the doodles, not wanting whoever it was to see them. 

"Guess who has a date?!" Pj announced happily as he strode into the room and tackled a giggling Dan down onto the bed. 

"I'm assuming... Jamie?" Dan teased, looking up at his friends face hovering above his. 

"Guess again!" Pj said, smiling and rolling onto his side beside Dan. 

"Joey?" He continued, surprising himself when Pj answered. 

"Yup! But he has a date with me!" Pj chuckled, curling his head into Dan's chest. 

"That's great Peej. But I thought you were straight." Dan said, twirling Pj's hair around his finger. 

"So did I! But seriously Dan, does this look straight to you?" He looked up at Dan, smiling like an idiot. 

"I guess not." Dan replied. 

"I'm really excited for this Dan. I really am." Pj whispered, staring up at his friend lovingly. 

Dan smiled down at him and kissed the boys nose. "I know. And I'm really happy for you." 

"Thanks Danny." Pj smiled, curling into his friends chest again. 

"Come on." Dan said, standing up and pulling Pj up with him. "We should get ready to go. Party starts in an hour. Don't want to be late for your date, do you?"

"No, not at all." Pj smiled, gripping his friends hand and dragging him over to the bathroom. 

Fifty five minuets later and the pair was almost completely done getting ready. Dan stood in front of the floor-length mirror on the closet door fixing his shirt and hair as Pj stood behind him sorting out his own hair. 

Dan wore a red plaid shirt, black shoes and black skinny jeans. His hair was sorted to look as nice as it could and his crown was perched slightly askew on his head as always. To match the rest of the outfit he had in a pair of black earrings. 

Pj had on a green button down and black skinny jeans matched with a pair of green shoes. His crown also sat slightly askew on his head and his hair was in its usual adorably curly state. 

"Do I look good?" Dan said, turning around to face Pj. 

"You look great Dan. Stop fussing." Pj said, flicking his fringe out of his eyes. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes. You're beautiful as always." Pj smiled, pulling on Dan's shirt collar slightly. "Now come one. Don't wanna be late, now do we?"

"No. No we don't." Dan replied, grabbing Pj's hand and linking his fingers with his. "Let's go." And with that the pair was out the door and making their way down to the party.


	6. Diamonds On The Dance Floor

The party was large and extravagant, taking up the entire main hall, dining room and some of the courtyard. People stood chatting with wine glasses in their hands or dancing to whatever song the DJ decided to play. It was nice, and Dan liked it that way. 

"Pj! Dan!" The pair was greeted by the smiling faces of Hilly and Hannah. The sisters looked stunning and were dressed in the nicest clothes Dan had ever seen. 

"Hi!" Pj exclaimed, giving each girl a quick hug. Dan just waved. 

"How are you? We didn't see you yesterday." Hannah asked, smile not leaving her face. 

"We're good. Sorry about not seeing you. We didn't really feel up to leaving the room yesterday." Pj explained as Dan remained silent. 

"Well it was great to see you tonight. We'll catch up with you later. Bye!" Hilly said, waving over her shoulder as the two walked away. 

The boys wandered around the room a little bit more, drink glasses in hand in an attempt to find Joey while Dan was secretly searching for Phil. 

As if on cue, said red haired boy attached himself to Pj in a hug, chuckling a his startled expression. "Heyo." Joey smiled, kissing Pj lightly on the cheek. 

"Hi." Pj smiled back, giggling lightly. 

"Come on! Let's go dance!" Joey said, grabbing Pj's hand and nodding towards the dance floor. 

"You okay on your own?" Pj asked, looking down at Dan who nodded and smiled in return. "Well alright, let's go!" 

Dan watched from afar as Pj and Joey danced to whatever song was on at the time amidst the sea of bodies. They were having fun. Pj didn't get to have fun at these things most of he time. Dan was always there, holding him back. He hated it. He didn't want to be the reason Pj wasn't having fun. But he was. And he resented himself for it. 

The room was getting hot and all Dan wanted to do was roll his sleeves up but he couldn't as people would see what he had been drawing on his arm earlier. He settled for sitting outside instead, the cool night air was bound to cool him down. 

Stepping out into the part of the large garden being used for the party, Dan couldn't help but notice that not many people were out there. It was much more lit up than the night before. Twinkling fairy lights had been strung through the trees along a path towards an old gazebo. As he walked further and further away from the castle the lights grew more scarce and the few remaining ones twinkled off the stream gunning through the courtyard. 

Dan stopped at the patch of trees he had visited the night before, sitting on the ground with his back resting on the rough bark of the tree. The soft hue of the lights bouncing off the stream made the entire thing a very peaceful place to rest. 

He rolled up his sleeves, no longer caring about other people seeing the ink along his arms. No one was here. He was alone and he liked it that way. Sure, maybe having a companion with him would be nice but Pj was off having fun and Dan didn't want to stop him from doing so. 

"Dan, hey." Dan looked up and was greeted by none other than Phil. 

"Hey Phil." Dan replied, using his body to shield his view of the markings on his arms. 

He looked up, studying the boy that stood before him. He looked gorgeous. He wore black jeans and a blue short sleeved button down shirt, paired with black dress shoes and his sliver crown sitting crookedly on his head. 

"Mind if I sit?" Phil said quietly, nodding towards the ground next to Dan, who replied with a small nod. 

Phil sat down quietly, clearly sensing Dan's discomfort. "You okay?" He asked quietly, looking at the brown haired boy carefully. 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Dan replied, playing with the sleeve of his shirt. 

"You don't look fine Dan." Phil said, gently grabbing Dan's hand, causing the younger boy to still in shock. "I like your doodles, they look cute, almost like tattoos." Phil hummed, looking down at the inkings on Dan's arms. 

"Thanks." Dan said quietly, pulling his hand away from Phil's. 

"Am I making you uncomfortable? Do you want me to go?" Phil asked, starting to stand up before Dan grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. 

"No, stay. I don't want to be alone." Dan quietly insisted, pulling his arm away from Phil's. 

"Okay." Phil said, settling back down beside Dan and looking at the brown haired boy who stared down at his lap. "Why don't we tell each other more about ourselves. I'll go first, alright?" Dan looked up at Phil and nodded, flicking his fringe out of his eyes. 

Phil smiled goofily, causing a small giggle to escape its cage in Dan's throat. "Alright. Well, I'm twenty one years old, I come from the planet Neptune, I have an older brother named Martyn, I'm naturally ginger and I love lions. What about you?" 

Dan sucked in a deep breath. "Well, I'm seventeen years old, I come from Jupiter, I have a younger brother, I really like llamas and Pj is my only friend."

"I'm your friend, Dan." Phil said, staring Dan straight in the eye. It was strange, the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye. It can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable. 

"Come on!" Phil said, jumping up and extending his hand down for Dan to take. 

"Where are we going?" Dan asked, grabbing Phil's hand and letting himself be pulled up, not letting go of the older boys hand. 

"I just so happen to love this song." Phil said, pulling Dan ever so closer to him. 

As Dan listened to the quiet sounds of the music playing in the distance, he couldn't help but think about how much fun Pj must be having, dancing inside with Joey. He smiled sadly at the fact that he couldn't be having in like that too. 

"Come on, let's dance." Phil said softly, pulling Dan close enough that their chests touched. He placed his hands on Dan's waist and Dan instinctively wrapped his arms around Phil's neck. The two stayed there, swaying gently to the slow melody of the song, like diamonds on the dance floor.


	7. Duality

Dan woke up alone in an overly large bed surrounded by all black and white. He sat up and looked across the foot of his bed to the large mirror resting on the wall opposite his current position. He noticed that he had blue ink smudged all down his cheek and neck. He must've fallen asleep on his notebook. 

He pushed himself out of bed and shuffled across the floor of the room, reaching the bathroom and flicking on the light. He looked worse up close than he had from far away. His hair was curled and messy, his face sunken and ink covered and his eyes dropped, all life being sucked out of them. Dan turned eighteen in three days. This wasn't the face of someone who was almost a legal adult. 

Dan missed Pj. He missed Joey and Jamie. He missed Phil. He missed not being alone. He missed not being like this. He wanted Pj to stay. To not leave him again. He wanted to be able to hug his best friend. To feel the fabric of whatever shirt he was wearing that day and to breath in his scent. He wanted to be alright. 

The other kingdoms would arrive today. They were here to celebrate Dan getting older. He didn't understand birthdays. People came together to celebrate you aging. Didn't people hate the concept of aging? If so, why did they come together to celebrate it. 

Dan was fairly excited to see everyone. It had been a little over a year since he last saw anyone. The earth princess' birthday to be exact. They left the day after the party. He didn't even get to say goodbye to Pj, let alone anyone else. 

It was late. All Dan had wanted to do was take a nap, but he had just been sleeping. He didn't want to see other people. Why were they getting here so late anyway? He sighed, wiping the ink from his skin and washing his face, attempting to make himself look at least a little more human. He quickly sorted out his hair, not bothering to straighten it. The only person he planned on seeing was Pj and he had seen his natural hair many times. 

He slugged into his room, pulling off his t-shirt and sweatpants and replacing them with a nicer shirt and jeans. He slipped on a pair of shoes and sat down on his bed to tie them. 

"Daniel James Howell get your ass down here!" His father shouted from downstairs. People had probably started to arrive by now. Dan sighed again, finishing tying his shoes and standing up, grabbing his crown off his desk and placing it on his head. 

He stood in front of the gigantic, floor length mirror on his wall. He looked at his reflection. His reflection wasn't him. His reflection showed the mask Dan wore in front of everyone. The happy Daniel Howell that would one day run a kingdom. But really, truly, Dan wasn't that. He was an insecure, scared, anxious, depressed boy who was about to be an adult and wasn't ready to be. 

It was duality. Dan was playing a game. A game he knew he couldn't win but he knew he couldn't quit. A game where the only rule was that you had to make everyone believe you were okay, no matter how much of a lie that was. 

"Daniel James Howell did you fucking hear me?! Get your ass down here!" Dan's father shouted again, causing Dan to jump and scurry out of the room. 

Dan walked down the hall towards the balcony, looking down at the large amount of people gathered in the main hall. He saw everyone chatting and drinking, all of them having a good time. 

There, in the crowd of plain people, he spotted a very colourful person with a head of black hair look up. They made eye contact and all Dan wanted to do was look away, make it seem like a mistake, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Even from so far away, those blue eyes were mesmerizing. Phil waved his hand, signalling for Dan to come down. With ought even knowing what he was doing, Dan obliged. 

Phil met him at the bottom of the staircase, Dan stopping a couple of stairs before him. "Dan! Hey!" Phil said, smiling brightly. 

"Hi Phil." Dan said, forcing a weak smile. "How have you been?"

"I've been great, what about you?" Phil said, looking up at Dan sweetly. 

"Yeah I've uh, I've been fine. Just fine. Yup." Dan stuttered out, lying with every word. 

It was as if Phil could see right through him. "Dan? Dan you don't look very good. Are you okay?" Phil asked, reaching out and placing his hand on Dan's. 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Dan said, pulling his hand away from Phil's who only tightened his grip. 

"Dan, you really don't look fine." Phil said, stepping up one step. 

Dan didn't dare move. He didn't want Phil to get the wrong idea. "I'll tell you later, alright?" He said, looking up at Phil who had now regained his height against Dan's. 

Phil sighed, nodding his head in defeat. "Alright. I'm expecting answers though." He let go of Dan's hand which was quickly retracted back to Dan's side. 

"Danny!" An excited voice called from the bottom of the stairs. 

"Peej!" Dan responded happily, a genuine smile present on his face. 

Pj pulled Dan into a hug, picking him up and pulling his off of the stairs. Dan flung his arms around Pj's neck, squeaking slightly at being picked up but quickly smothering that feeling with the feeling of Pj's arms around him. 

"I've missed you so so SO much!" Pj said, placing Dan down and kissing him on the forehead. 

"I've missed you too!" Dan said, standing on his toes and hugging Pj again. 

Pj giggled and looked over Dan's shoulder to see Phil watching them. "Oh, hey Phil." Pj smiled. 

"Oh, yeah, hi Pj. Um, I'll catch you later Dan, alright?" Phil said, scratching at the back of his neck. 

"Yeah, yeah I'll see you later." Dan said, pulling away from Pj and looking back at Phil who only smiled politely and walked away. 

Dan looked back up at Pj, giggling and pulling the giggling man back into a giant hug. In temporary moments like this, duality got easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! I hope you liked that! Also, I recently got a Tumblr account so you should totally follow me that is if you want to you don't have to but yeah. http://im-so-quacking-emo.tumblr.com/


	8. From Finner

"Why do you have glow in the dark stars on your ceiling?" Phil asked, pointing to the plastic shapes covering the ceiling of Dan's room. 

Dan shrugged, closing the door behind himself as he walked into the room. "They're calming." 

Phil sat on the end of Dan's bed, looking around at everything as if he'd never seen a bedroom before and had to remember the sight for all eternity. Dan sat down next to his mound of pillows and leaned back on them, silently observing Phil. Phil looked over at Dan and smiled, scooted over to sit next to him. He tucked his knees into his chest. 

"You have a nice room." Phil said, smiling. 

"Thanks." Dan said, smiling lightly. 

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" Phil asked. 

Dan sighed, sitting up straight. "I guess I should, huh? Alright well, just promise me you won't judge me."

"Hey, or course I won't judge you." Phil said, pulling his legs down in front of him and turning to face Dan. 

Dan took a deep breath, hanging his head. "It's just that, I don't know. I feel useless. Like, I try to feel happy but I don't. I keep everyone in the dark, even Pj. I want to die most days, I always feel really anxious and I hate going places alone. I hole everyone around me back and I try to keep them out. Ignorance is your new best friend, you know?" 

Phil stared at Dan, as if contemplating what to say. He wasn't expecting Dan to be that open with him. They hardly even knew each other after all. But still, it felt like they had known each other forever. 

"It's all a game Phil." Dan said, looking up with tears running down his cheeks, breaking the older boys heart. "It's all just a game of duality." 

Phil couldn't take it anymore. He pulled Dan forward, burying his face in the younger boys hair. Dan instinctively wrapped his arms around Phil's waist and pressed his face into his chest. Phil could feel the wretched breathing coming from Dan, only making him want to hold him tighter. 

"Dan," Phil said, pulling away from the younger boy and looking down at him. "Dan, you're not aware of how wrong you are because you're not solid as a rock. You're like water which always finds a way to keep moving. You want to be on your own but your true friends are here to help you fight against those demons. Please, just let me help you."

"Phil." Dan sobbed, collapsing into Phil's arms, the older boy bringing him as close as he could manage. Dans body shook as he sobbed. Phil pulled him onto his lap, softly stroking his hair until he calmed down. 

"Phil." Dan said quietly. Phil hummed in response as the younger looked up at him through glazed eyes. "Thank you." Dan whispered so quietly it was like he just mouthed the words. 

"You're welcome." Phil said gently, kissing Dan on the forehead, causing him to giggle slightly. 

The two sat in silence for a few minuets, Dan curled up on Phil's lap and Phil softly stroking his hair. Dan had started to hum a tune and Phil looked down at him, curious as to what he was humming. 

"What song is that?" Phil questioned, causing Dan to look up at him. 

"Oh, uh," Dan's cheeks turned slightly pink. "It's uh, called From Finner. It's a really good song. You should listen to it some time." 

"Could you sing it for me?" Phil asked, still lightly stroking Dan's hair. 

"Uh, sure, I uh, I guess." Dan stuttered. Um uh, okay. Um."

"Whenever you feel most comfortable Dan." Phil smiled, lightly kissing the boys forehead. 

Dan smiled and started to lightly hum before picking up the tune and singing the words lightly. "We came here on his back and we caught your eye. The salty ocean wind made the seagulls cry. The rocking of his house had me holding on. But I knew that I was safe from there on out."

"That is a very beautiful song. You were right." 

Dan smiled up at his friend before looking down at his lap and for the first time realizing where he was sitting. "Oh gosh I'm sorry Phil I must be hurting you!" Dan said, pushing himself off of Phil's lap. 

"No, no you're okay. You're not actually that heavy." Phil said, lightly chuckling at Dan's expression. 

"Dan!" Dan's little brother, Tyler, announced as he pushed open the door to Dan's room. "Don't kill me, but..." 

"Tyler what did you do?" Dan asked forcefully. 

"I kind of sort of broke your piano." Tyler said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. 

"Tyler you little shit!" Dan shouted, jumping up of his bed. "What the hell did you do?!" 

"I don't know! It kind of just, stopped working!" Tyler said, holding his hands up in surrender. 

Dan groaned loudly, shoving Tyler out of the way as he stormed out the door, Phil following close behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can guess the artist that the song From Finner is by in the comments I'll dedicate the next chapter to you and you can tell me what you want to happen. No cheating, just take a wild guess! Thanks!


	9. Fools

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a while. This chapter is nice and long though so I hope you like this.

"Daniel, I think you need to get out of the house." Dan's father said abruptly. 

Dan looked up from the bowl of cereal sitting in front of him. "What do you mean?" 

"Daniel, you look horrible. You should go out. You have friends, right? We want you to go out tonight. Take as many people as you want, stay out as long as you want, have as much fun as you want. We just want you to have a good time, okay?" His mother explained. 

"Well, I guess I could convince Pj and Joey to go out. Joey would probably bring Jamie and maybe a couple other people. I could ask Phil and Hilly and Hannah." Dan said, more to himself than to his parents. 

"That sounds lovely dear." His mother smiled, patting his hand from across the table. "You should do that." 

Dan nodded and stuffed the remaining few bites of cereal into his mouth. He cleaned out his bowl and set to work gathering people to come with him. Pj and Joey were incredibly quick to accept the offer, Jamie reluctantly agreeing and the twins saying they'll bring along their friend Louise. Hilly and Hannah politely declined as they were busy and Phil was more than happy to come along. 

The day passed in a flash and soon it was late afternoon. They decided to go out now and come back later that night. Dan stood in front of his mirror, staring at his reflection. Today felt like a good day, tonight felt like a good night. He decided to wear an oversized sweater, black skinny jeans and black boots. It seemed appropriate as the weather was supposed to cool down that night. 

"Danny!" Pj shouted, bursting into Dan's room. 

"Peej!" Dan spun around to face his friend. Pj looked handsome as ever. He wore light blue skinny jeans, green vans and one of Joey's flannels. 

"Come on! Everyone's waiting downstairs!" Pj said happily, grabbing Dan's hand and dragging him downstairs. 

In the main hall stood everyone who had agreed to come. Joey and Jamie stood with a blonde girl Dan didn't recognize but he assumed was Louise. Phil stood quietly scrolling through something on his phone. 

"Oi! Guys, look who finally decided to get his ass out here!" Joey said jokingly, pointing at Dan causing him to blush slightly. 

"Hey." Dan said quietly, waving at them. 

"So Danny boy, where you takin us?" Joey asked, tossing an arm over Dan's shoulders. 

"Well, I was thinking we should go get food first, as I'm starving. My stomach is my main priority." Jamie chimed in, standing on Dan's other side and slipping his arm around his waist. 

"Yeah, that sounds good." Dan said, looking between the boys. 

"Alright boys give him some space." The blonde girl Dan assumed was Louise said, causing both boys to step away from Dan. 

"Oh um, hi. I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Dan." Dan said awkwardly, extending his hand for her to shake. 

"Hi. I'm Louise." She said smiling, shaking his hand kindly. "I'm from earth. You probably came to my eighteenth birthday last year." 

"Yeah, yeah I did. Sorry I didn't take the time to meet you. It was a hectic weekend." He said, releasing Louise's hand and dropping his at his side. 

"That's fine. Now, shall we go?" 

The group went outside where Dan's father had his truck parked and piled inside, Dan doing the driving. They drove into town to a small cafe and went inside, earning them questioning stares from other people inside as to why the prince was in a cafe with a group of people. 

They ordered their food, sat down at a table in the corner and talked. It's funny, how being in good company is such a warm feeling. You can learn so much about people without even realizing you're learning about them. Everything gave hints into their personalities, from the way they talked to what they ate, how they walked and the way they dressed. For instance, Dan learned that Joey was a vegan, Phil hated cheese, Louise had a sweet tooth and Jamie would eat almost anything. 

After their time spent at the cafe, it was close to sunset and Jamie had come up with the brilliant idea of going to the beach and having a bonfire. Of course, everyone was quick to agree. They all piled into the truck and Dan drove them down to the beach. 

They walked down the sandy ground and sat down near a large area of cliff. Joey seemed absolutely fascinated by the are, as he took out a camera and took a lot of pictures. 

"It's like something from a story!" He said, turning in a circle trying to take it all in. "It's so amazing!" 

"I agree." Pj stated, grabbing Joey's hand and pulling him down onto the ground beside him. 

The group sat and watched the sun as it disappeared into the sea. They joked around, giving each other silly dares and questions as they built a fire. Joey was dared to do a handstand, surprising everyone as he managed to do it with ease. Dan was dared to climb as far up the cliff as he could. He managed to get ninety precent of the way to the top before he slipped and almost died. 

A little while later they were all gathered around the fire, taking turns jumping over it. Joey and Pj were practically joined at the hip, with their ankles hooked together and Joey having his arm wrapped around Pj. Jamie and Louise were poking fun at each other and making jokes wholeheartedly. 

Dan had wandered off a bit and was lying on the ground, staring up at the stars, catching the attention of Phil. He wandered over and laid down next to him. Dan turned his head and smiled at the blue eyed boy, seemingly getting lost in the swirling pools. 

"Hi." Dan said quietly, playing with the sleeves of his shirt as they fell over his hands, not breaking eye contact with Phil. 

"Hey." Phil replied softly, smiling sweetly at Dan. 

"You look really nice in your glasses." Dan mumbled, lightly adjusting the black frames that had fallen askew. 

Phil smiled sweetly and grabbed Dan's hand, lightly kissing his knuckles. "Thanks." 

Dan blushed lightly, looking down at his legs. "You know what this reminds me of? The first time we talked." He said lightly, looking back up at Phil, their faces closer than need be. 

"Yeah." Phil said quietly. Dan could feel his breath on his face and to be honest, he didn't really mind. 

"Hey Dan?" Phil said quietly after a few minuets of silence. 

"Yeah?"

"I think I really like you." Phil said quietly, grabbing Dan's hand a lacing their fingers together. 

"I think I really like you too." Dan replied quietly, moving forward and lightly placing a kiss on the corner of Phil's mouth. 

"Oi! You two! It's getting late, we should head back!" Joey shouted at them, not even bothering to look in their direction as he knew they heard him. 

"Alright!" Phil shouted back, removing his hand from Dan's and standing up, pulling the younger boy up with him and walking over to the group. 

They all filed back ingot he truck and drove back, returning back to their respective rooms after saying tired goodbyes. Tonight was a good night. It was one of the nicest times Dan had ever had. He got to know these people much better and felt he understood them more. Dan's parents were right. This was good for him.


End file.
